Profiling Polar Craters with the Mercury Laser Altimeter

MESSENGER's Mercury Laser Altimeter (MLA) will measure the topography or surface relief of the northern hemisphere of Mercury. That data will be used to create topographic maps, which will help characterize the geologic history of the planet. One of the most important tasks for MLA is to measure the depths of craters that are near Mercury's north pole. In the latest "Science Highlights from Mercury's Orbit," MESSENGER's Geophysics discipline group explains why.